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Serbia v Brazil (2018 World Cup)
| next = }} Serbia v Brazil was a match which took place at the Otkritie Arena on Wednesday 27 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation Brazil are expected to be unchanged from the side that started the 2-0 win over Costa Rica, as Philippe Coutinho and Neymar scored injury-time goals. Danilo is out with a thigh problem and Douglas Costa has a hamstring injury. Six of the Serbia squad have been booked and will be suspended if they are booked again and reach the last 16, but coach Mladen Krstajic is expected to stick with his first-choice side. Both sides can still top Group E, finish second or be eliminated. Five-time winners Brazil started the competition with a 1-1 draw with Switzerland but the win over Costa Rica kept them on course to advance as group winners. For Serbia, they won 1-0 against Costa Rica thanks a goal from former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov, before suffering a 2-1 loss to Switzerland as Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri scored a last-minute winner. However, Serbian Football Association president Slavisa Kokeza and Serbia coach Krstajic were each fined 5,000 Swiss francs (£3,800) for comments they made after the match. Krstajic told Serbian journalists that German referee Felix Brych should be tried for war crimes in The Hague for failing to award his team a second-half penalty. The Serbian FA was also fined 54,000 Swiss francs (£41,250) for the behaviour of fans during the game - they displayed discriminatory banners and messages and threw objects. Brazil's performances have been surprising considering they had only lost one match in 21 in the build-up to the tournament, scoring 47 goals and conceding just five. However, a draw for them against Serbia will be enough for a place in the knockout stage. If they win and second placed Switzerland beat Costa Rica, then both teams will have seven points, although Brazil currently have a one-goal advantage in goal difference to see who wins the group. If both Brazil and Switzerland have identical records then the group winner could be decided by disciplinary records: Brazil have three yellows, Switzerland four. If they both lose then it will be the second and third places potentially decided by the same process. Serbia will qualify if they defeat Brazil. A draw would be enough if Switzerland lose to Costa Rica by more than one goal. Serbia can still win the group but need to beat Brazil and hope Switzerland lose to Costa Rica. Head to head Yugoslavia included, Serbia and Brazil have met four times at the World Cup. Their head-to-head record is perfectly balanced with one win each and two draws. Serbia and Brazil's first ever World Cup appearance was in a match against each other in 1930 - Yugoslavia running out 2-1 winners. In total though (including as Yugoslavia), Serbia have faced Brazil on 19 occasions - winning just twice (drew seven, lost 10). This will be the second meeting between Serbia and Brazil with the former as an independent nation - their first encounter was in a friendly in June 2014, Brazil winning 1-0. Match Brazil avoided a shock result that had earlier seen Germany knocked out of the World Cup by defeating Serbia to finish top of Group E and book a last-16 tie against Mexico. They did so with the sort of occasionally dazzling performance that suggests they are growing into a tournament that they are one of the favourites to win, as they put behind them their slow start in Russia. Paulinho had deservedly put Brazil in front with a deft finish after a brilliant run from deep saw him convert Philippe Coutinho's through ball in the first half. Tite's team had to protect a slender lead for a shaky 15-minute period at the start of the second half as Serbia went all out for the win they then needed. But Aleksandar Mitrovic found an opposition defender when he should have scored and saw another header saved by the unconvincing Alisson. And once Thiago Silva extended Brazil's advantage with an unmarked header from a corner, Tite's side regained a measure of composure and went close to a third on numerous occasions. Serbia may feel aggrieved the second was not ruled out by VAR for a push on Mitrovic by Miranda as the corner came in but they were outplayed overall. The result ended their hopes of qualifying from the group stage for the first time, while Brazil now head to Samara, where their last-16 tie will take place on Monday, as group winners having topped Group E over Switzerland on goal difference. Tite's side were heavily criticised after their laboured display against Switzerland and their unconvincing performance against Costa Rica, which required two injury-time goals to claim a much-needed win for the five-times champions. In Moscow on Wednesday they were sluggish in parts and had lost control of midfield after the restart to such an extent that Tite brought on Manchester City's Fernandinho for goalscorer Paulinho. But Brazil have been solid defensively under Tite, conceding just five goals in 21 games going into the tournament, and despite riding their luck a little at 1-0 they undoubtedly deserved their three points. Neymar and Coutinho both sent team-mates clean through with sumptuous throughballs and the Brazilians created numerous good chances. Gabriel Jesus and Neymar were both denied by Stojkovic after being played clean through - the Serb keeper making a series of fine saves against the Paris St-Germain forward, with a one-handed stop late on the pick of the bunch. Jesus, Neymar and Coutinho were a constant menace as Brazil broke with dizzying speed and there were undoubted signs Brazil are starting to move through the gears as the tournament now moves into the knockout phase. It was a far from a perfect evening for one of the pre-tournament favourites as influential left-back Marcelo limped off early in the opening half. But Neymar's demeanour after the final whistle - smiling happily and waving to all sections of the crowd - reflected the change of mood within the Brazil camp. Serbia were in bullish mood before the game with coach Mladen Krstajic saying "nothing is impossible" and striker Mitrovic asking "why wouldn't we beat Brazil?" And after a first half when they never really laid a glove on their illustrious opponents, they went all out after the restart. Mitrovic scored the goals that helped Fulham win promotion to the Premier League last season, but he was found wanting when Serbia - roared on by their passionate support - crafted a series of openings. Heading the ball straight at Brazil defender Miranda after Alisson had flapped horribly at a cross was probably the moment of the match for Serbia, with the chance coming during a period of sustained second-half pressure. Mitrovic also saw a header saved by Alisson, but after Brazil scored their second, and with Switzerland leading against Costa Rica in the other Group E tie, it was game over. Serbia exit the competition as they did in 2010 - at the group stage. But their failure to qualify is probably less about their result against Brazil than what happened in their previous game against Switzerland when they let a 1-0 lead slip to a damaging 2-1 defeat. Details Thiago Silva |stadium = Otkritie Arena, Moscow |attendance = 44,190 |referee = Alireza Faghani (Iran) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Final Group E Table |w=2 |d=1 |l=0 |gf=4 |ga=1|bc=lightgreen|advances = y}} |w=1 |d=2 |l=0 |gf=5 |ga=4|bc=lightgreen|advances = y}} |w=1 |d=0 |l=2 |gf=2 |ga=4|eliminated=y}} |w=0 |d=1 |l=2 |gf=2 |ga=5|eliminated=y}} |} Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Serbia !width=70|Brazil |- !scope=row|Goals scored |0||2 |- !scope=row|Total shots |10||14 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |2||6 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |42%||58% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |5||9 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |13||7 |-| See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup Group E External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches